Homecoming

Geo felt freer on the lake than anywhere else. He could be himself, and hardly anyone bothered him there. Not since that summer. Sure, there was an investigation, but nothing came of it. No body; no crime.

He liked the shack and the little skiff dock. He sat on the edge of the dock on evenings like this. Thirty feet out, the buoy rocked from a passing motorboat, and the soft clang set the birds off.

The motorboat made another pass and slowed, letting its own wake push it to the dock. His dock. "'Scuse me. May I help you?"

"Yes, I'm looking for 402 East. Whatever that means." The stranger stood and steadied the boat alongside the dock.

"It means lot 40 on the south-eastern shore. The 2 stands for South. It also means you found the right place."

"Oh, I just assumed...uh. Hmm. I was told there wasn't a tenet." The two men sized each other up.

"Assumed, yeah. The old man just disappeared, and no family had come to claim the shack. Was it really so bad that I lived here? But people make *assumptions,* and gossip turns to truth faster than paint dries in the desert," Geo blurted out, immediately wishing he could shove all the words back in his big gab.

"Sorry! What the heck do you mean? This is my uncle's property. You don't have a lease?"

"Look, it was just sitting here..." before he could finish, the stranger restartsd the engine and steered towards town.

The stranger returned the next morning, his face paler and his jaw set. "So, I asked around," he said, rousing Geo from his morning nap. "Look, I know what everyone thinks. I also know it's not true."

"And how's that? You just got here."

"Well, I just got back." The stranger lifted his arm and balanced the compound bow. He aimed for Geo's heart and squeezed.